by Ash, Leela
Elizabeth moved to the corner of the room and began to fill the bath tub with large urns of water she had warming on the fire.
“That doesn’t make me feel any better,” Muriel whispered, but she was sure she was the only one to hear.
Muriel loved her mother and father, but they had never been close and their relationship had been tested many times. Muriel was a headstrong woman, she knew what she wanted out of life and she had fought for her right to live the way she pleased from a young age. After being denied at all costs, and kept amongst the confines of the castle, she had eventually accepted her fate. As the only daughter of Lord Calder, she would be wed to a rival family to strengthen bonds and forge alliances. With each passing day, Muriel could sense that her time was running out and that one morning she would wake up and her mother would sit her down and tell her that a date had been set and a suitor had been decided. Now she was nineteen, it seemed even more possible to happen at any moment. She was of an age where most girls had already been married and born several children. Her father had held out on her own marriage to ensure that Muriel was used as effectively as possible and the most powerful family was found. She hated that her only place in life was to breed with the son of another Lord and carry on a line of clans that she had been desperate to escape. Muriel knew deep in her heart that she was worth more than this, and even though she had accepted her fate… she would never give up hope that somewhere out there, there would be something or someone to save her.
“Here Lassie,” Elizabeth said as she helped Muriel to her feet and pulled her long smock dress off over her head. “You’re bitten with cold, get into the bath and get warm.”
Muriel had been so busy thinking about her future and of what her father and brothers were doing in the forest she had barely even noticed that her fingers were white with cold and she was shivering all over.
As she stepped into the bath and slid down into the warm water she breathed a sigh of relief. It felt good to be safe in her own personal space and as she washed her plump legs and arms with the oil scented water she smiled and tried to banish the negative thoughts that had plagued her all day. Even though she wasn’t heading in the direction she had dreamed of, she was lucky beyond words, and she would be thankful for all she had been given in life so far.
“Maybe I should take a trip down to the Grand Hall afterwards,” she said to Elizabeth, “I should see mother and eat something before bed.”
Elizabeth smiled and nodded her head as she hurried to find her an appropriate smock to wear, and Muriel looked up at the small window high in the castle wall. In the dark night she could see the glow of stars twinkling down on them and she wished with all her heart that she could have been out there underneath them.
3.
The Grand Hall was bustling with people feasting over whole pigs and drinking tankards of wine. Big, burly, highlander men sat astride the wooden benches that flanked the main table and each and every one of them seemed to be in various degrees of a drink induced stupor. Muriel avoided catching their eyes as she passed them on her way to find her mother, but this was almost impossible considering her appearance. There was no one else in Castle Cawdor, or indeed most of the highlands, quite like her. She attracted attention whenever she entered a room due to her olive skin, her large brown eyes and her rich brown hair. This coupled with her curves made her completely different to any other woman in the whole of Inverness. She stood out, so completely beautiful compared to the pale, scrawny women that surrounded her, and men could rarely take their eyes off her ample bosom and the swell of her hips.
“It’ll be a lucky man who gains your hand,” her mother often told her when Muriel was having one of her moments and expressing her distress at being married off to a stranger. “A lucky man who will do nothing but adore you.”
But it didn’t matter how much her mother told her this, or how much she noticed the wandering eyes of the men in the castle… all she wanted was the right to choose. She wanted to fall in love more than anything else in the world, and she wanted it to be with the right man.
She crossed the hall and her mother caught her eye. Muriel raised her hand to wave and watched her mother shift down to clear a space next to her. As Muriel approached she could, as usual, feel the eyes of the room on her. And as she sat down she breathed a sigh of relief to no longer be on her feet and on show.
“Muriel,” her mother said curtly, “Your father tells me you were out of the castle walls after night fall.”
Muriel winced and rolled her eyes.
“Well I’m here now and no harm came from it,” she snapped, feeling herself instantly tense.
“Some may say we’ve let you take too many liberties over the years,” her mother said, “And as you know you are still without a husband.”
Muriel felt the tears prick her eyes. She had known that this was coming, but she hadn’t expected it to be that night.
“Your father and I have decided that you will wed the son of Lord Rose tomorrow.”
“What?” Muriel got to her feet, the anger coursing through her.
“Sit down Muriel,” her mother said angrily, “Do not make a scene here.”
Her hands were shaking. How could they do this to her with less than a day’s notice? She had never even met Lord Rose, never mind his son… and she certainly didn’t know anything about him.
“The Rose Clan will be a powerful bond for us here at Cawdor in these uncertain times,” her mother whispered out of the side of her mouth whilst looking out across the Great Hall. “You must now step up and do your bit for our family.”
Muriel felt mad with rage but she knew she had nowhere to turn and no way of resisting. This was the moment she had been preparing for her whole life… and the one she had dreaded the most.
“So, that’s it then? You are just going to send me off to a stranger?” she spat.
“Muriel,” her mother laughed and shook her head, “You should have been married off years ago, just be thankful you had this long with us all here at Cawdor… but now the time has come for you to be a woman… you will go off, you will start a beautiful family of your own, and most importantly, you will understand why marriages like this are so important.”
Her mother looked at her and reached her hand up to her cheek.
“You are going to make the most beautiful bride,” she beamed. “Your father and I are so proud of you… and you have no idea how much you are helping our clan by bonding with the Roses.”
Muriel felt a chill roll over her and she squeezed her hands together. Her destiny had finally caught up with her. She was going to be sent off to live in a strange castle with a strange man and there was nothing she could do about it.
Just as she got to her feet and was about to retire for the night with tears in her eyes and regret in her heart a commotion started towards the door of the Grand Hall. Both Muriel and her mother stood side by side and strained their eyes to be able to see over the crowds as a wailing peasant boy was carried toward them.
Muriel gasped as she caught sight of him and of how he was bloodied and covered in deep wounds. His body was limp and the gashes and slashes all across his torso looked like some kind of beast had tried to tear him limb from limb. Blood dripped down onto the floor beneath him and his chest heaved as he tried to breathe.
“What happened here lad?” Muriel’s mother asked him, her face barely cracking with any kind of emotion.
Muriel covered her mouth as the putrid stench from the wounds was almost too much to bear.
“Wolves,” the peasant boy croaked, “They’re out there… and they’re coming for all of us.”
His hands trembled and with one last labored breath he breathed his last.
Muriel gasped and she covered her eyes. Her mother wrapped a protective arm around her and the crowd carried him away from the table and out into the corridor, out of sight.
“What’s happening mother?” Muriel whispered, “What is happening here at our Castle?”
4.
The next morning Muriel awoke with a sense of dread. The scenes of the night before continued to replay over and over in her mind and she could still smell the rotting stench of torn flesh that had dripped from the boys wounds. There was no way a wolf could have injured him in that way, Muriel told herself, he must have been delirious… maybe a rival clan attacked him in the darkness of the forest…
Whilst she rehashed the events another memory surfaced and nagged away at the back of her mind, and no matter how hard she tried to suppress it, it kept coming back stronger than ever.
It was her wedding day.
She had to marry the son of Lord Rose.
Muriel shuddered and looked up at the ceiling high above her bed. She could hear Elizabeth pottering around in the side room that led off her bed chamber and she wanted to call to her, demand to know if she had heard this wicked information of how she was practically being sold into another family, no doubt in exchange for lands and allegiance. But, deep down, she knew there was no point in torturing herself. Her fate, as they say, was sealed.
She sat up and rubbed her eyes as she looked around the room and realized with a crashing sense of reality that it would be the last time she awoke there. Who knew where she would find herself the following day… she didn’t even know where the Rose Clan originated. Maybe she would be travelling on horseback with them for days and be spending her wedding night in a cold, soggy ditch, longing for the safety and familiarity of Cawdor.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” she said aloud.
“What’s that Lassie?” Elizabeth called to her from the side room, as she poked her nose around the door.
“This is it,” Muriel said as she swung her legs down onto the floor, “I take it you know about what’s happening today?” She felt the accusation fill her voice.
Elizabeth looked down at the ground and sighed.
“Aye,” she said solemnly, “Your mother visited me in the early hours to tell me of their plans.”
“And?” Muriel demanded.
“They’ll come for you this evening, as the sun sets,” Elizabeth said, “And you shall be wed to Lord Rose…”
“And then what?” Muriel swallowed.
“And then he’ll take you back to his land,” Elizabeth sighed, “And you will begin your true journey as a Lady and a wife.”
Muriel felt the tears prick the corners of her eyes. She was so frightened, but also so completely exhausted… the emotion that the situation was stirring for her was unbearable.
“Don’t be sad Lass,” Elizabeth assured her as she crossed the room to her and rubbed her shoulder tenderly, “We all have our own paths set out… and who knows what may come to Cawdor in the coming months… you will be safer out of the way.”
“But… my brothers?” she stammered.
“They’ll be fine,” Elizabeth smiled, “Strapping young laddies like them will thrive in any trouble, mark my words.”
Muriel had the distinct feeling Elizabeth was telling tall tales, but she had reassured her none the less. Muriel smiled and leant in for a hug. She would miss this old woman and the way she cared for her, even if at times she had driven her close to madness.
“Enjoy your last day as a Calder,” Elizabeth said, “For tomorrow you will be Lady Muriel Rose.”
Muriel felt the hairs on her arm stand on end and for the first time in her entire life she started to really think about what being a wife would mean…
Her last day at Castle Cawdor passed by like any other. Muriel tried to push to the back of her mind what would be taking place later in the day, and she sat with her brothers and watched them play fight along the hallways outside the Great Hall. None of them asked her about what would be happening that evening and she began to wonder if any of them even knew that at the same time the next day their only sister would likely be miles and miles away.
She smiled as she watched them fondly and remembered their time together as children and then, as the afternoon began to give way to the late hours of sunlight she made her way back to her bed chamber where Elizabeth and her mother were waiting.
Laying down across the bed was a white gown, full and long, with fluted sleeves and a plunging neckline. White flowers were lying in a wreath next to it, entwined with Ivy, and Muriel walked over to the bed and picked it up.
“This crown of flowers,” she smiled, “Is beautiful.”
“Ivy represents fidelity,” her mother said warmly, “Always remain faithful to your husband Muriel. We women don’t have the same rights as our men.”
She said it so seriously Muriel felt shocked into submission. She had never truly considered the actual severity of the vows she was about to take… she was going to be someone else’s possession… she was going to belong to a man and she would never be able to act how she truly pleased ever again.
“Lord Rose is a strict man,” her mother said as she wound the lacing around the back of the dress and pulled it tight to emphasize Muriel’s tiny waist and luscious curves, “You mustn’t displease him.”
Muriel gasped for air and clawed at the lacing but her mother batted her hands away. She had a smirk on her face which seemed to suggest that she was taking some kind of warped pleasure in seeing her daughter distressed.
“You look beautiful Daughter,” her mother said coldly, “Now come… it is time…”
5.
Muriel could sense the buzz in the castle as she walked along the darkened stone corridors. The sun had not long set and she was on her way to meet her husband for the first time. She was about to be joined to him for the rest of her life, and she had never even set eyes on him. As she approached the entrance to the Great Hall, her father was waiting for her. He had always been a cold man, but this day he smiled upon his daughter fondly and took her arm in his.
“Lord Rose is lucky to have you Muriel,” he beamed, “You are a treasure and a valuable asset to Clan Calder and he will know this and treat you right.”
Muriel blinked back the tears. She didn’t want reassurance, she needed to feel something, anything … she needed to feel as if this was meant to be, but everything in her entire being was screaming for her to run.
The entrance to the hall was adorned with candles and Ivy garlands, and the guards that watched her every move only made her more nervous as she stood at the threshold, about to pass down to the aisle.
Her father kept hold of her lightly and she took a deep breath as the doors fully opened and the sea of faces that were waiting all looked back at her. She was the woman of the moment… everyone had been waiting for her, and as the bard starting playing and she began to walk down the entire length of the Great Hall, men and women gasped with awe as she passed. She looked radiant and beautiful, even if inside she was dying.
The congregation at the head of the room parted and by the altar Muriel could see him standing there… her intended… Lord Rose. The instant their eyes locked her skin began to crawl and she knew instantly that she despised him.
His small, weasel-like eyes, his peppered sandy hair and thin, shallow shoulders turned her off the second he turned to face her. She could see his weedy frame beneath his armor and it was then that she couldn’t hold the tears back any longer. As they slipped freely down her cheeks her father dug his rough nails into her forearm and shot her an angry glance.
“Don’t ruin this Muriel,” he hissed out of the corner of his mouth.
She swallowed down her disgust and panic and as she reached the front of the room and stood side by side with the man that she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with, she looked up at him and knew that she would never be happy again.
He smiled and as his lip curled she felt a wave of nausea pass over her. He was the most unattractive man she had ever seen and she knew that there was no way that she could ever love him.
“We are gathered here today…” the priest began.
Muriel felt her mind close off and the ringing in her ears got louder as
she tried not to hear any more of what was going on around her. She thought about her younger brothers. She would do it for them. If it meant that they had a better future, then she would wed this man and ensure just that. She had to be brave. She had to stay strong. Who knew what was waiting out there in the rest of the world. She sighed deeply and was about to pull herself together and turn to face Lord Rose when suddenly there was a loud roar and banging and crashing reverberated around the rest of the castle.
The Priest stopped speaking and an eerie silence descended on the hall. Somewhere, out in the corridors, came the curdled screams of men, alongside the growls and snarls of what could have been wolves… Muriel looked up at all of the people around her… and in a wave, the entire congregation began to panic.
“We’re being stormed!” Muriel’s father bellowed as he lunged forward and grabbed hold of her mother.
Muriel was so shocked she didn’t know where to turn. She could hear the sounds of a battle close by, somewhere in the castle, and she knew that they were surely heading for them.
Within seconds the doors to the Great Hall burst open and a clan of big, burly, red haired highlanders came bursting through. They were like no one Muriel had ever seen before, they were so tall and muscular, they almost could have been monsters, not human. At their sides were huge, red wolves… big snarling beasts with bared fangs dripping blood. Muriel couldn’t believe what she was seeing… the wolves were so big… so incredibly powerful, they surely couldn’t have been from Inverness. Her blood ran cold and she felt her breath catch as she stood frozen to the spot in blind panic.
All around her men and women were running. Her parents disappeared and she was aware of the clash of swords and the growling and sounds of ripping flesh. Her mind was spinning and she knew that although she was conscious… she was on the verge of collapsing with fright.
As the army of men and beasts that were storming the castle grew closer Muriel’s shaking hands reached out and grasped hold of the altar. She tried to keep herself upright, but she was faltering, she was so afraid and she had nowhere to turn. She shook as she reached out again to try and keep her balance before she fell in a willowy heap to the ground. As a battle raged on around her, the blackness engulfed her and swallowed her whole.
